Inside US Trade Quotes Clete Willems on G7 Postponement and Meeting Agenda

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Akin Gump public law and policy partner Clete Willems has been quoted in the Inside US Trade article “Analysts see G7 postponement as a possible boon for trade cooperation.” In light of the summit postponement, the article reports, countries may now have more time to find solutions to mitigating the economic effect of the coronavirus pandemic as well as developing supply-chain solutions.
Following an announcement by President Trump that the meeting will now likely be held in September, Willems said the countries need to remain in touch and work toward that gathering, which he said would be hard to “replicate” virtually.
“I think whether or not they get together virtually now versus in person later – that’s not going to change the fact that these guys are on the phone with each other on a very routine basis,” Willems said. “I understand from the White House that they are talking almost daily to each other.”
As long as the various parties are able to come up with safety protocols that allow them to travel, Willems said, “It’s so much more valuable to have an in-person meeting. I think to the extent that it takes them a couple more months for them to figure that out is worth doing.”
As for what might be discussed when the summit eventually takes place, Willems said he was less hopeful that trade would take up as much of the agenda, noting that it would likely take a backseat to health and economic issues related to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“My understanding is that there is going to be a lot of focus on coronavirus and the health and economic aspects of that. I think there is going to be a lot of focus on China, some of that may have trade ramifications,” Willems said. “They will definitely want to have a China focus and that is where you could get much of trade stuff. I don’t know -- in terms of an independent trade section -- how much I would expect there.”